Nochebuena
by CharWright5
Summary: Carlos was feeling a little bummed out at missing some of his family's traditions during Christmas Eve. Luckily, his boyfriend knows just what to do to make everything right, even when Carlos doesn't say anything. (AU drabble, BTR doesn't exist)


_**A/N:**__ More Kenlos feels. Butseriouslytheyaresocutetog etherIcantevenstanditohmyfuc kinggod._

_*ahem *_

_Anyway, um. Well, no need to tell where this came from. And if my Spanish is wrong, blame Google Translate, 'cause that's where I got it from :D_

_And I hope you have a Happy Whatever You Celebrate If You Celebrate Anything At All :D_

* * *

It was Carlos' first Christmas Eve spent away from home, away from his family. And, okay, it wasn't like he was in an entirely different country or something. He was just on the other side of town in the apartment he now shared with his boyfriend Kendall. And even though it was just a few miles and a short car ride to visit his mami, papi, and siblings, it felt like it was oceans away.

He figured it was just the holiday, the slight strangeness of this new situation that was getting to him. His family had traditions they always did on Christmas Eve, and while he'd partaken in the trip to his family's church—which Kendall had joined them for—he was still missing out. He wasn't gonna spend the night with his brothers and sister in the living room. He wasn't gonna be waking up with them. He wasn't gonna hear his mami's statements about "breakfast first, presents second, or else you'll never eat" or his papi's back-ups of "the presents aren't going anywhere, just relax."

But he tried not to let it show that he was missing any of that stuff. Kendall had been amazing and supportive, going to his family's Navidad party and once again suffering through his papi's lectures and interrogations, made all the more intimidating by the policeman's refusal to take off his uniform. But it was more than that. Kendall had gone out of his way to make sure both of their families and backgrounds were represented when they decorated their apartment. He let Carlos pick out the tree, the decorations, the angel on top. He argued over the Latino wanting to get real poinsettias though, stating they couldn't afford them, suggesting a compromise of fake ones they could reuse for several years. That made Carlos smile, Kendall's plans of keeping the plants for several years obviously meaning he'd be sticking around for a long time. Not that the whole living in the same apartment thing didn't already speak to that...

But the fact of the matter was that Kendall had been the most perfect, amazing, supportive boyfriend throughout the holiday season, leading up to Christmas Eve, making Carlos decide to keep his mouth shut about being sad over still missing out on some of his family's Christmas Day activities. After all, the blond was missing out on some things, too, including time with his younger sister that he absolutely adored. So for the Latino to say anything about feeling upset over anything would be pretty messed up and bratty. Instead, he just put a smile on his face and kept his mouth shut, acting like everything was perfect.

Carlos brushed his teeth in the sink, rinsing his mouth out, making his breath minty fresh. Not that it wasn't already, since he'd snuck in and had eaten a candy cane or two during church, but considering the sugar on them and how much fun getting cavities drilled wasn't, he definitely needed to scrub the enamel in his mouth.

Leaving the bathroom, he switched the light off and headed into the bedroom, finding it unoccupied, lit up, and without a comforter or pillows. Which was weird, 'cause it had just been washed over the weekend during one of Kendall's "Oh my god my mom's coming to visit! We need to clean everything right now!" freak outs.

The Latino's brow furrowed in confusion and, yeah, okay, he could admit he wasn't the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but this was really weird, even for him.

"Kendall?" he called out, his voice full of questioning, as he slowly turned his head to the open door that led to the main part of their residence. He had no clue what was going on, or even where his boyfriend was. He expected the blond male to already be tucked in bed, maybe a school book on his lap, waiting for the Latino to join him. It was their nightly routine, Kendall doing his bathroom stuff first, Carlos going second, the two of them cuddling in bed and talking about their day before the lights go off.

But the other male wasn't in bed.

He wasn't even in the bed_room_.

And he wasn't answering either.

Confusion still on his face, Carlos left the chamber, heading into the living room, locating his boyfriend. Who was putting a tray on the coffee table on the other side of the couch from where the Latino was.

"Uh, Kendall?"

The blond straightened up to a standing position, dimpled smile forming on his face, green eyes lit up despite the only lights in the room being from the Christmas tree behind him. "Hey, sweetie."

Carlos gave one slow wave, still looking lost, head slightly twisting to the side. "What are you doing?"

His boyfriend just smirked more, reaching a hand out and gesturing him over. "C'mere and see. Oh, switch the bedroom light off first, please."

Moving cautiously, the shorter male did as requested before slowly walking over. He rounded the end of the couch, taking a good look at the scene in front of him. Their bed pillows and comforter were set up on the sofa, slightly tousled looking. On the tray on the coffee table were two mugs of hot cocoa, complete with marshmallows—one containing more than the other and clearly for Carlos—and a plate of frosted sugar cookies they'd made with Kendall's sister Katie the day before.

Still confused, the dark haired male turned his attention to the blond, seeing the white fleecy PJ pants covered in polar bears and red thermal he was wearing, his family having a "New Jammies for Christmas" tradition, one that Carlos had been included in that year. "What's all this?" he questioned, gesturing to table, couch, and the things on them.

"Well, I remember you saying that you and your siblings used to sleep in the living room and lay around the fireplace and wait for Santa, complete with cookies and milk," the taller male explained, gesturing to the tray. "I thought maybe we could do that together here." He turned his attention to his boyfriend, an expression of uncertainty spread across his face. "Unless you don't wanna, then I'll just clean up and put this stuff back on the bed so we can sleep there."

"No!" the shorter blurted out, turning his personal volume button down. "I mean, I wanna sleep out here with you."

Kendall's smile returned, a relieved breath leaving him. "Good."

Carlos couldn't help but smile back as he walked over in front of the couch, moving the comforter out the way so he could sit in the middle. His boyfriend sat right next to him, their thighs touching, then settled the comforter over them, smiling at the Latino's pajamas of red polar bear pants and white thermal, his mom's idea of them being cute and matchy, but not too matchy. The duvet perfectly settled, Kendall leaned forward and grabbed one of the mugs, the one with more marshmallows, handing it to the Latino.

Who grew confused once more.

"Wait," he started, watching Kendall reached over to the coffee table once more. "I told you we drank milk during our sleepovers."

"Right," the blond replied, grabbing his mug and the plate, bringing them with him as he leaned back. Both males kicked their feet onto the table, Carlos taking the plate as Kendall readjusted the blanket before leaning back once more. "But having a mug of hot cocoa right before bed on Christmas Eve is something I did with my mom and sister, so now I'm sharing it with you," he informed the other male, smiling at him.

Carlos beamed back, glad to be included in some of the Knight traditions. It made him feel like he and Kendall were one-hundred percent the real deal, that there was no breaking them apart. They were not only part of each others lives, but part of each others families now. And he couldn't wait until the day the two of them started a family of their own, taking some of their old traditions and creating some new ones.

The Latino settled his head on his boyfriend's shoulder as the blond settled the plate of cookies on their laps, the shorter male's hands wrapped around his mug. He stared at their Christmas tree, watching as the white lights flashed on and off—Carlos' request, which Kendall followed through on, despite adding another hour of decorating time as he tried to get the flasher bulbs on and working. They'd also had to do the gold tinsel several times, not quite getting it wrapped right, always leaving weird gaps and uneven spaces. And the placement of the balls had been another issue, more bald spots being created and rearranging being done. The one thing they'd gotten right on their first try was their special crystal snowflake ornament they'd bought, one stating "_First Christmas Together_" and the year. It had a special place of honor, front and center, where everyone could see.

Yeah, the tree wasn't perfect, but the entire scene was. It was their first tree together, first Christmas Eve together, first time staying up and waiting for "Santa" to arrive. And as Kendall handed over a reindeer cookie with extra icing—he'd have to thank Katie for sneaking that in, despite her older brother's protests of "no more sugar for Carlos! None!"—the Latino decided things didn't get any better than this.

"Feliz Nochebuena, Carlos," the taller male stated lowly, turning his head to look down at his boyfriend.

The Latino lifted his head, smiling widely, feeling an overwhelming joy at the other male's determination to learn Spanish for him. "Merry Christmas to you, too, Kendall."

And as their lips connected in a sweet kiss, Carlos decided he'd been wrong earlier that day. It truly _was_ the most perfect Christmas Eve.


End file.
